In the office, Ele sat in the desk chair and called up her boss who answered on the first ring. The older man's gruff voice made Ele cringe,

"Where the hell have you been Ele? I have a backlog of emails and messages from clients who can't get a hold of you! Explain yourself! Now!"

Ele bit her lip hard and put her elbow on the desk, her head in her hand as he talked, demanding an answer. Taking a deep breath, Ele spoke softly, trying to keep her voice from shaking,

"I was in an accident and had to go to the hospital with a head injury... And the doctor is making me take medical leave."

The voice on the other end of the line was silent, and that made Ele extremely nervous. Swallowing hard, Ele spoke again,

"He should have faxed the order to you, he says I can't work for a minimum of two weeks."

Closing her eyes, Ele bit her lip again and set the phone down on the desk as her boss erupted with anger. She didn't even need to hold the phone to her ear to hear what the man was saying, and Ele tried to shut out the yelling. Yelling did something to her, made something inside of her suck whatever confidence and strength Ele had and reduce the woman to a shaking, weak mess. Even now, Ele could feel her hands shaking, so she clenched her fists and took deep breaths while her boss went on his tirade.